Generally, when the need arises to carpet an irregularly shaped surface, the carpeting material can simply be chemically or mechanically attached to the substrate or flooring. However, if the surface includes an area having a sharp angular surface, such as where the floor of a car trunk meets the wall of a car trunk, it will not be sufficient to simply bend the carpet to fit the contours. The stress imposed on the carpet at the point where it is folded will cause adhesion or attachment to be imperfect, and the appearance of the carpeting will be marred.
A relatively simple way of relieving the stress on the back side of the carpet where it is folded, is to cut a slit in the backing material along the line of folding the carpet. When this method is used however, the effect is for that portion of the carpet that was not slit to become a hinge, which of course will then be the only material left holding the carpeting together. This hinging material will not have as much strength as the carpet as a whole did in terms of ability to resist repeated folding or stresses placed near the area of the fold.
Therefore, there is a need for a carpeting material which has been prepared so as to be capable of fitting onto irregularly contoured surfaces that have sharp bends, has increased strength so as to be able to withstand repeated foldings and so as not to be torn or separated when loads are placed close to the bends or folds in it, and which has an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The present invention meets this need.